Posture is Power

二枚腰
Nimaigoshi
Sumo term which means to have a posture in which the legs are firmly planted

A good martial artist always has good posture. Posture is defined as either “the position in which someone holds their body” or “an approach or attitude.” One correction that Furuya Sensei would often give us was “back straight.” Poor posture usually means that we are pushing or using our upper bodies too much or that our minds have become disengaged. In meditation, when we lose our posture, it usually means that our minds have fallen asleep. Poor posture then disables us from using our centers properly and generating our power to our fullest potential. In swordsmanship, it is thought that posture is important because proper posture and proper grip usually indicate a balanced center and an engaged mind. The proper posture or stance for a martial artist is shizentai (自然体) or “the natural body” stance. In Shizentai, we stand up straight and extend our spines which allow our shoulders to sit naturally. Therefore, good posture activates our power and enables us to use the energy from our centers. In Aikido, our center is referred to as the “one-point” or the chushin (中心) or hara (腹). When our centers are activated then our minds are calm but also engaged. In Japanese, many of the words like migamae, taisei, and goshi mean “posture” but like in English, posture can also mean “attitude.” Furuya Sensei used to say, “You can tell everything you need to know about a person by the way they do Aikido.” Thus, what he is saying is that our physical posture is an indication of our inner attitude. Leadership guru, Brian Tracy said, “You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.” When we stand nimaigoshi or “firmly with good posture,” we are saying to the world, “I am calmly ready for.” In Aikido and life, being “calmly ready” might be a physical posture but posture is power because it shows our attitude and our level of engagement. That is why a good martial artist always has good posture.

Today’s goal: Mind your posture because others are trying to figure out just how powerful you really are. 

Throwback Thursday - Value Your Life

Throwback Thursday - Value Your Life

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on January 18, 2004.

As Aikido evolves in this modern world, it is vital to maintain the teacher-student relationship. Without this system, the art cannot be transmitted to the next generation of students.

We like everything cheap, fast and easy. Do you think this is the way to enhance the quality of our everyday lives? If we think about it for a minute, we will easily see that it doesn't make any sense at all. A higher quality of life means to work hard and be honest - don't make your life a matter of economics and do not base your life on such low minded thinking.

A student of Aikido, like a warrior, must go through all kinds of trials and obstacles in order to understand what Aikido and Life truly are. If we think this can be made easy, we are very foolish and open to disappointment. Something of great value does not come easy, if we value our lives, we will understand that there are many hardships and disappointments to face.

What makes Aikido harder and most profound as a Way, is that in Aikido, there is no fighting and there is a strong value placed on respect. The fact that fighting, anger, hatred is not an option - our most easiest way out in most cases - means, by definition, that we are already living on a much higher plane. Please always appreciate this in your practice each day. Finally, it is for this reason, we bow and pay our respects to O’Sensei each day as well.

To value our own Life is the hardest realization of all. We think that people understand this but they do not! They know how to value money, power and their own pride and ego but this is not their own life, it is only their own awkwardly heavy mental baggage which they carry all around inside of their heads. If one truly values their own Life, they will live each minute with great honor and respect for others. Only in respecting others, will one understand how to respect one's self. Simply to hold ourselves dear above others, is not understanding - it is only greed and pride.

Temper your knowledge with compassion and faith. Strengthen your faith and compassion with knowledge.

Labor of love

奉仕活動
Hoshikatsudo
Labor of love 

The martial arts are a labor of love. The dark secret in the martial arts that nobody tells us is that every person has to put in the work regardless of their level. An often quoted but anonymous aphorism is “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Naively, most think that this means that if we find something that we “love” then it won’t be work. No, it will still be work or the act of putting in the effort but it will be our work and thus a hoshikatsudo (奉仕活動) or “a labor of love.” At every step on the Way, we are confronted with obstacles. Some of those obstacles are physical but a vast majority, even if they seem physical, are mental. The normal person views “work” as something bad and associates it with suffering. Gordon Allport said, “To live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in the suffering.” Martial artists are different people and so they can see past the immediateness of work and embrace its toil because they understand its meaning in their self-development. At different stages and levels of ability, the work is different, but the perspective is all the same. Kendo legend, Moriji Mochida said, “It took my body 50 years to learn the basics of Kendo. After I reached 50, that is when the real training began. This is because I finally started to practice Kendo with my mind and heart. When you reach the age of 60, your legs and hips will weaken. You will learn to conquer this weakness with your mind and heart.” Understanding this, every obstacle which we face is the Way. The martial arts are a labor of love where each of us, master and beginner alike, must put in the work but we don’t see it as work. Every person has to work, but not every person sees it as suffering. A martial artist sees it as a labor of love and so it never feels like work. 

Today’s goal: Can you make everything that you do a labor of love? 

Be Dedicated

義兵
Gihei
A warrior dedicated to a righteous cause

The best warriors are dedicated. This week was the third anniversary of Steven Shaw’s passing and the 15th anniversary of Furuya Sensei’s. As I thought about Steve, the word which came to mind was gihei (義兵) or “a soldier who is dedicated to a righteous cause.” After Furuya Sensei had passed away, Steve would religiously come back from Colorado to attend his memorial service. In 12 years, the only one Steve missed was the year he passed away. In the beginning, many others were dedicated too, but over time, most others found new teachers to follow, better opportunities elsewhere or just simply forgot. I remember, one memorial when I went to pick up Steve at the hotel and he came down 10 minutes late. We were on a tight schedule, so I was a bit annoyed at his tardiness. When he got into the car, he casually apologized with his characteristic big smile and began to explain why he was late. As he explained, he beamed with pride as he told me about FaceTiming with his daughter who was showing him a piece of art that she had created. I remember him saying, “It was so cool” and ending it with “Man, I love my kids so much.” At the end of his explanation, he just said, “You’ll see” as he touched my arm knowing that my wife was pregnant and due in a few months. He was so happy and glowing with pride that I didn’t have the heart to be mad at him. I will always remember Steve as being a dedicated teacher, husband, and father. Steve’s memorial is in the same week as Furuya Sensei’s. Each year, it becomes harder and harder to remember them. The easy thing would be to just forget them and just “move on” with our lives. However, being dedicated means not forgetting which helps us to remember the lessons they were trying to teach us. Thus, like Steve, I strive to be a dedicated teacher, husband, and father. Remembering his life helps me to not to forget to live mine. When I think of Sensei and Steve’s passing, it makes me sad, but remembering them helps to remind me to be dedicated. The best warriors are dedicated long after everyone else has lost theirs. 

Today’s goal: What can you be dedicated to?

Throwback Thursday - Don’t Dwell

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on May 9, 2002.

We shouldn't dwell on death, yet it should never leave our minds. Being aware of the harsh reality that we can go at any time, should urge us to live our lives fully and meaningfully. It is hard to find the right Path for ourselves, but once we find it, like Aikido, do not leave it but pursue it whole-heartedly with all of our body and spirit. We think that we have all the time in the world, but, in reality, we do not. In the years that we are allotted, there is not that much time to do very much!

Nowadays, I see on the news that so many young people are doing stupid, wasteful things and throwing their lives away. We should not dwell on stupid or unnecessary matters and try to see our lives very clearly. Be practical and realistic and pursue your goals without reserve. Don't bounce around from here to there, back and forth. We may think that we are getting everything we can, but we will find out that we have nothing doing it this way. We may think that our lives are our own and we can do anything we please with it, but this is a silly view as well. We are all connected. At the same time, we fulfill our dreams, we should not cause sadness and grief to others around us. We do this without knowing, this is why we must be so careful in what we do and how we think. Of course, there is nothing we can do when our lives come to an end, but yet many people will be sad.

Read the Air

空氣を読めるよう
Kuuki wo yomeru 
“To read the air”
To be aware

The best martial artists are always aware. Aikido is a very sophisticated martial art on many different levels. On one level, we see its sophistication in its desire to not harm the opponent. Throwing someone down without hurting them or with the desire to show them compassion requires koseido (高精度) or a “high level of precision.” In class, part of our training is to show restraint and precision in not only not injuring people but also by not throwing people off the mats or into other people. In order to train with this level of precision requires that we have a sense of awareness. The other day, a few students and I went out to dinner. The restaurant required that we show a vaccine card or negative test to enter. During the meal, I saw someone sneak in the back door apparently to circumvent the covid vetting process. After eating, I asked if anyone had noticed this person. Everyone was busy having a good time and nobody did. What the students forgot is that our awareness doesn’t end at the edge of the mat or when the class is done. Our Aikido training teaches us to be aware at all times. In Japanese, the ability to be aware is “kuuki wo yomeru” (空氣を読めるよう) which means “to be able to read the air.” Awareness is about seeing or “reading” that which is not readily apparent. In this case, the guy could have been coming in through the back door to commit some sort of violent crime. Being a martial artist, we know that surprise is one of the best assets in warfare. Being able to read the air enables us to be aware and see things before they come and thus act appropriately and with composure. Awareness enables us to realize O’Sensei’s vision of non-violence and enables us to do Aikido while delivering the least amount of damage but at the same time being in complete control. Non-violence requires compassion and compassion cannot be achieved without precision and precision necessitates that we be aware. That is why the best martial artists strive to always be aware.  

Today’s goal: Can you be aware of your surroundings at all times?  

Never Forget

三尺去って師の影を踏まず
Sanjakusatteshinokage wo fumazu 
A student must never forget to honor their teacher.
-Japanese Proverb

The best warriors never forget. Remembering is about being able to recall something which is not in our immediate awareness. Never forgetting implies that we wish to keep something in our awareness and keep it in the forefront of our minds. It is thought that the average person forgets four important facts, items, or events every day and thus 1460 things can become “lost” in the recesses of our minds every year. Knowing that there is mental degradation over time, a warrior strives to not forget because they know that little things when forgotten can become bigger things in the future. This weekend we honor our teacher Rev. Kensho Furuya who passed away 15 years ago. After 15 years, it would be easy for Furuya Sensei, the person, to just become a picture on a wall that we venerate every once in a while. The reason why we should not forget our teachers is because the Way is perilous. The path is fraught with danger and with each and every step we can easily or unconsciously be led astray. Sensei used to say something like, “To step off the path even one step takes hundreds of miles to return from.” When we have lost our way then we may succumb to any vice, situation, or fear. That is why Furuya Sensei used to always say, “Always act as if your teacher is watching.” By pretending that our “teacher is always watching” we are much less likely to do something that would embarrass us, lead us astray or cause us to make a mistake. By acting as if our teacher is watching, we end up not forgetting our teacher and the lessons that we learned. There is a secret power that exists in not forgetting. I am not sure I can explain it well but every person who neglects the memory of their teacher or “moves on” from it, ends up suffering the consequences and loses most of the lessons that they struggled so hard to learn. For instance, there was a really diligent student who was a great person and hard working. When he quit, he ended up getting a divorce, going bankrupt and losing his professional license. In all of those mishaps, it seems that he did not act as if his teacher was watching. By never forgetting, we don’t forget what it is we should be doing and how we should be doing it and that’s why the best warriors never forget. 

Today’s goal: Act as if your teacher or your parents are watching. 

Grit

打たれ強い 
Utarezuyoi 
You have to be able to take a hit.

A good martial artist has grit. Grit is defined as “courage and resolve” or “strength of character.” In Japanese, one way to say grit is konjo (根性) which means “willpower” or “fighting spirit.” Someone on the internet said that GRIT is an acronym which meant “Growth, Resiliency, Initiative, Tenacity.” I thought that their explanation of grit was apropos for a martial artist. As a student or a teacher, we must be constantly seeking growth. Becoming better is a function of one’s growth internally and externally. We must also be resilient because growth is often accompanied by failure and failure is oftentimes the best teacher. Martial artists must also take the initiative or have the wherewithal to act because growth only occurs when we put in the work. Most of all, a warrior is tenacious and won’t back down no matter how big the goal or how bad the odds. Grit is having a versatile mindset focused on growth but also the temperament to be consistent and constant regardless of the situation. Unfortunately, grit is one of those things that teachers can’t teach us but we can learn on our own. Throughout our training, we are learning grit without even knowing it. For instance, one of the first obstacles that one must surmount in their training is learning how to roll comfortably. People can tell us how to do it and even show us but that still won’t make our rolling anymore easier. The only way the roll gets better is if we put in the work to make it that way. With consistency and constancy, our roll eventually becomes better and without even knowing it we have begun to teach ourselves grit. On a certain level, this is utarezuyoi (打たれ強い) or the learning “how to take a hit” method which teaches us to have grit. In life and in martial arts training, things will happen and many times it doesn’t go in our favor. The average person will give up at the slightest difficulty. However, a martial artist is not a normal person. Things will happen and sometimes they go in our favor and many times they don’t. Regardless of the outcome, having grit enables us to get up and try again. What makes a warrior good is merely having the grit or the mindset to get up, dust ourselves off and keep on going no matter what. 

Today’s goal: What things can you do to teach yourself to have grit? 

Watch this video to better understand Grit

Control Your Freedom

Today in Los Angeles, we can now train maskless indoors. Most of us have been rouchourenun (籠鳥恋雲) or “longing for freedom like a caged bird.” With any hope, this is the signal that the pandemic is coming to an end. With the mask mandate being lifted, many of us can now enjoy our “freedom.” However, what most people forget is that even with “freedom” there are restrictions. In Aikido, there is a lot of talk about jiyuwaza (自由技) or “free-flowing technique.” When we practice or demonstrate jiyuwaza, we are supposed to be demonstrating our Ki no nagare (氣の流れ) or “the flow of our Ki” which shows our level of mastery. Supposedly, when our Ki is flowing and in its most natural state, then we are in this free-flowing state as we throw our partner around easily and spontaneously. In Japanese, jiyu (自由) in literal terms is defined as “free” or “unrestricted” but in a more deeper sense it means “with complete mastery” or “in complete control.” When I was a student, our dojo used to have to do Aikido demonstrations every weekend during the summer. It was hot and hellishly tiring. I remember that Furuya Sensei used to do these great demonstrations where he would captivate the audience with his Aikido technique and entertain them with lively banter as he explained Aikido. One time, I asked Sensei why we would never see him rehearsing. He replied something to the effect that he used the demonstration as a gauge of where he was at in his training and that’s why he would always go in “cold.” In jiyuwaza, if our minds get caught up in conscious thought then it “stops” and so does our movement. In order to do jiyuwaza skillfully, we need to be in control. We have to have made the Aikido techniques second nature so that we can properly control our bodies and we also need to be in control of our minds in order to move spontaneously. Either way, our freedom comes from our ability to be in control of ourselves. Hopefully, as things take a turn for the better, we can resume our daily lives and enjoy our freedom. Remember, as a martial artist, our level is determined not by what we can do to others but by our ability to show restraint.

Today’s goal: Remember, freedom means being in control of what it is you choose to do. 

Watch former Navy Seal Jocko Willink talk about how discipline equals freedom.

Throwback Thursday - Seeing

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on April 30, 2005 

There is one talent that I think students who advance quickly seem to have, which is not really strength or agility but rather is the ability to “see" the movement and duplicate it in their own bodies. Observation and noticing the minute details of the movement is a great part of the learning experience in traditional Japanese arts. The word for learning in this case is mi-narau (見習う) or "learning by seeing."

Seeing, in this sense, is not simply “looking." I am speaking here of “true" seeing where we see without judgement, bias or interpretation but simply seeing things, the movement in this case, as it is and then imitating such movements.

Most students, I notice, cannot see the techniques “clearly." In my opinion, they see with too much judgement and interpretation. Their bodies move with the feel of "oh, I know that technique!” or "i've seen that before," or "that looks easy or hard."

Students see a movement in class, but can they duplicate it exactly as they saw it? In some cases, they see someone step forward, and then they step back. In other ways, they see the hand is high, but then move their hand low, or they see the hips twist and then don’t move their hips at all and on and on.

In class, students should try to observe the instruction without any mental comment, conversation or judgement. Just see it as it is and imitate it as it is, not as they think it should be - this is already an interpretation and judgement.

Students will find that the more clearly they see the movement and the more skillful they become in imitating the movement, then they will see how much more quickly they will begin to advance in their technique.

Please understand that I am not advocating blind imitation, what I am recommending here is “closer and more serious attention" to what is being taught. There is a big difference here which we must clearly understand in our heads each time we practice.

Sooner or Later

竹槍戦術
Takeyarisenjutsu
The sole reliance on simple determination when fighting an overwhelming foe 

A good martial artist believes in the power of sooner or later. After joining a dojo, the second biggest hurdle that every student encounters is learning how to roll and facing basophobia or “the fear of falling.” The interesting thing about rolling is that people can show us how to do it or exhaustively explain it to us, but we can only really learn it by doing it over and over. Rolling is just one of those things that just gets better with time and repetition. Initially, most of us just start rolling like a square and loudly hit our heads, bang our shoulders, or smash our hips. However, at some point sooner or later, our roll almost magically improves and becomes smooth and quiet and even somewhat enjoyable. This breakthrough moment kind of just happens one day and occurs not only with rolling but in every Aikido technique as well. The poet Rumi said, “Everything in the universe is within you.” One way to think about a breakthrough is based upon Innatism which states that “the mind is already born with ideas, knowledge and beliefs.” The knowledge of things like rolling are stored deep down inside and so a breakthrough is just the unlocking or release of our innate knowledge. Thus, how is our innate knowledge released? Through repetition and by believing in the power of sooner or later. The power of sooner or later states that as long as we keep going, then sooner or later we will prevail. Sooner or later is about having ishikengo (意志堅固) or “determination.” Determination which is the single greatest asset any warrior can have in life and in Aikido. Determination is one of those skills which cannot be taught but anyone can learn. How do we learn it? We learn determination by being steadfast in action and by adopting the mindset of sooner or later. Everything we need to know is contained inside of us and that’s why a good martial artist always thinks “sooner or later, I will prevail” and never gives up. 

Today’s goal: What in life do you need to apply the sooner or later mindset to?

Watch this informational video about how if you start to exercise, sooner or later you will get into shape.

Should Teachers Hit Their Students?

情けに向かう刃なし
Nasake ni hamukau yaiba nashi
There is no sword which can oppose kindness

Recently, an Aikido teacher I know, wanted my opinion on the topic of corporal punishment or whether or not a teacher should hit their students. If we suspend judgement of the act, hitting a student should be looked at based upon ethics, morality, or effectiveness. In times past, there was an immediacy to training which was necessitated by the threat of war. At that time, it was thought that hitting a student was one of the fastest ways to create discipline and harden a student for battle. With the threat of death, morality and ethics took a back seat to speed and effectiveness. Nowadays, very few martial artists are going off to battle, so the speed that a slap or hit creates is not as important as the ethics or morality behind it. In contrast with the past, we have a better understanding of learning and have the opportunity to look at corporeal punishment longitudinally. Today, we understand that hitting a student to get them to adhere and to have discipline is very ineffective. For instance, there is a ton of research out there that says hitting children creates angry adults. Therefore, knowing what we know now, hitting isn’t good for a child’s long-term health nor does it follow the philosophy of Aikido. Look at it this way, O’Sensei said, “Aikido wa sono 99% ga atemi de aru” which means that “Aikido is 99% atemi.” However, today most atemi or “strikes to vital points,” have been evolved out the techniques. Atemi was evolved out because it is thought that stopping to atemi impedes one’s ki no nagare (氣の流れ) or “the flow of ki.” This topic lies at the juncture between old and new. If we look at it from the standpoint of tradition and the effectiveness at which it created some of the greatest martial artists of the past, then we might think about maintaining the practice of hitting students to awaken them or to create discipline in them. If we look at corporal punishment through the eyes of modern pedagogy, ethics, and morality, then hitting students is ineffective and immoral. In the past, I followed Furuya Sensei and would discipline my students corporally, but now because of age and experience, I refrain from doing so. I realized after 15 years of teaching that hitting students or punishing them physically is an ineffective way to teach and is not in keeping with O’Sensei’s philosophy of non-violence. It is my opinion that hitting students shows one’s weakness in not only teaching ability but in character. We, as teachers, should strive to be better than the teachers of the past and not just blindly do something just because someone else did it. The old ways have value, but are the old ways the only ways? That is up to each person to decide and don’t just do it or not because I said so. 

Today’s goal: Onkochishin (温故知新) or “Discover new things by studying the past”

Watch or listen to this episode of the Aiki Dojo Podcast where we cover this topic more extensively.  

Throwback Thursday - No Mind

Throwback Thursday - No Mind

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on September 27, 2004. 

When my Zen master, Kenko Yamashita was in his office during the normal course of the work week, he often practiced his calligraphy. He often wrote letters with a brush rather than with a pen just to continue his practice. Many people would keep these letters because they were examples of his wonderful calligraphy. Much of his calligraphy, he told me, was self-taught and only developed through many decades of practice. I always thought his calligraphy had a strength and nobility in which his character always shined through. One of the words he used to practice quite often were the three words coined by Dogen - hishiryo (非思量). How do you translate hishiryo? I don’t really know. It means literally, "thought without thought.” or "consciousness without thought." Hishiryo is our primal state of mind of pure thought and awareness without all the baggage, mental obstacles, distortions, illusions or prejudices. Thought without thought - we experience this all the time when we become absorbed in something we are doing and, at other times, when we are totally relaxed and doing something but not really thinking of anything. Generally, we are in a conscious state of the calculating mind or the money mind in which we continually calculate profit and loss, good and bad, yes and no.

In our Aikido practice, we should practice with the hishiryo mental state of total absorption - it is at this moment when we are 100% both mind and body.

It is not the mind of "I hate this person," or "when does practice finish" or "I am hungry" or "it is too hot and I am sweating," or “when will I become rich and famous!" It is the mind of being totally focused, not attached anywhere, but everywhere at the same time - this is total absorption. Sometimes, we call this "no mind," but people often get confused with this term. Maybe we should say, the "mind of no mind!"

In practice, lose everything! Let everything drop away, - even your own mind and body. When we can "let go," then, at that moment, we gain everything. This too is hishiryo.

Watch Furuya Sensei being interviewed on FSN/UPN1 in 2000.

The Aiki Dojo 2 Minute Technique - Kubishime

The Aiki Dojo 2 Minute Technique - Kubishime

David Ito Sensei, Aikido 5th Dan explains the kubishime (首締め) attack or “a choke and grab from behind.” People often think that kubishime is a choke. However, if we look at its origins, it is an arresting technique designed to restrain a samurai or a person wearing a sword from drawing it. Traditionally, kubishime was a left hand grab and right hand choke. Nowadays, we don’t wear swords on our left hip and so we change sides for training purposes. Kubishime teaches us to have good posture with a grounded stance, calmness under pressure and the ability to do several different things simultaneously. 

Let us know if you want us to do a full length video on this or any other topic.
Sometimes there's no time to read a lengthy message or watch a long documentary. So we've created these quick and easy 2 minute techniques to help you improve your Aikido technique and knowledge. Keep an eye out for them every Wednesday. 

Enjoy!

Always go Forward

A good martial artist always goes forward. In the martial arts, we are always susumeru (進める) or trying to “advance forward” toward our opponents. In Aikido, we always focus our energy forward even when we tenshin (転身) or “move backwards.” The other day in Aikido class, Watanabe Sensei said, “In tenshin movement, even though we are physically moving backwards, mentally we should always be going forward.” In the beginning of our training, our forwardness is primarily focused on the physical. However, the more experienced we become, the more our forwardness becomes mental or how we direct our energy. Years ago, Furuya Sensei and I were cleaning out a closet when we came upon a box of foam swords. Jokingly, when my back was turned, Sensei bonked me on the head. Later, in retaliation, I tried to hit him when his back was turned away while he was looking through a box of magazines. Without looking up from his box, he drew his foam sword and lightly poked me in the chin as I rose to hit him. Shocked, I said, “I guess that’s why you’re the teacher.” In response, he just lectured me for wasting time. The best warriors have no suki (隙) or “openings” for attack. They have no openings because regardless of the direction they are moving or facing, their energy is focused in the direction of their opponent. In the Hagakure, Yamamoto Tsunetomo wrote: “When meeting calamities or difficult situations, it is not enough to simply say that one is not at all flustered. When meeting difficult situations, one should dash forward bravely and with joy. It is the crossing of a single barrier and is like the saying, ‘The more the water, the higher the boat.’” Therefore, regardless of the adversity or obstacle, a martial artist should always be intentionally and agreeably moving forward. Marcus Aurelius said, “the obstacle is the way” and so we should be grateful for the lessons that adversity brings us and move forward to greet them. In life and in the martial arts, we should always be moving forward physically and mentally and that’s why a good martial artist always goes forward.

Today’s goal: What can you do to keep your body, energy and focus moving forward?  

Watch this Kendo video to better understand how kendoist move forward.

Never Tell Me The Odds!

善戦苦闘
Zensenkutou
Regardless of the odds, put up a good fight. 

A good martial artist never plays the odds. In the Empire Strikes Back, CP30 tries to tell Han Solo the odds of success of flying through an asteroid field. Han Solo shouts out, “Never tell me the odds!” Han Solo didn’t want to know the odds because he wanted to rely solely on his skill and he knew that knowing the odds could somehow negatively influence him. The odds are the “chances that something will happen.” Sunzenshakuma (寸善尺魔) is a Japanese idiom which means that “In evil, there are odds.” Evil would like us to take chances or play the odds, but being pragmatists, warriors rely on what they can do rather than focus on the chance of being lucky. When Furuya Sensei was young, he was able to take Kendo and Iaido lessons from Tiger Mori (Mori Terao) who was a famous Kendoist and arguably one of the best swordsmen of the 20th Century. Sensei said that after Kendo class, Tiger Mori would often do Iaido with some of the students. At one point, they brought out wara or “bundles of straw tatami mats” and started to do cutting practice. Sensei said that Tiger Mori put a sword on each side of his obi so that they sat crosswise in his belt and then took up a stance between two bundles of wara. In an instant, Tiger Mori drew both swords simultaneously, cut both of the wara in half and then re-sheathed them just as smoothly as he drew them. Drawing and cutting with two swords on opposite sides of one’s hip simultaneously is hard enough, but the odds of re-sheathing them is almost impossible. Sensei said that the room went dead silent, and everyone just stood there with their mouths open in awe. Sensei commented that Tiger Mori’s technique was very smooth, quick and was completely without fumble. To get to Tiger Mori’s deft level requires devoted training, and it cannot be achieved by playing the odds. In Aikido, we believe that every life is precious, especially ours, and so we daiji wo toru (大事を取る) or “to take no chances.” In life and in Aikido, we are successful because of the power of our will and what it is we are capable of doing but skill requires training. We train because we can’t rely on chance and that’s why a good martial artist never plays the odds. 

Today’s goal: Rely on your skill and don’t rely on the odds.

Throwback Thursday - Everyday Mind

Throwback Thursday - Everyday Mind

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on March 4, 2004. 

Hei-Jo-Shin (平常心): Everyday Mind

This is a very popular phrase in Zen and the Japanese arts and is what is aspired to as the epitome or ideal mental state. "Everyday mind” implies to our modern minds as "nothing special," but in Zen, nothing special means "everything is special." As everything is special, everything becomes equal in value and position and therefore, once again, nothing is special.

In this respect, it is not to pick and choose or take this and that in our lives and make it something what we deem of lesser value or importance, but to take the total whole of our lives, leaving nothing behind, and taking it one more step to a higher level.

As in the tea ceremony - the ideal is like the hishaku (柄杓) or “water ladle” which can be used freely between hot and cold water without discriminating between the two. The hishaku’s "universal" state makes it universally important and useful. This is what is known in Zen as "freedom."

In Zen, discrimination is not particularly wrong or condemned, it is only within our discriminating mind that we are so restricted and limited as we swing back and forth from one side of the scale to the other. The goal is to have heijoshin or a mind which, like the hishaku, doesn’t discriminate so that everything is at the same time special but also nothing special and thus just everyday. 

True Wisdom

“Understanding why and when to apply knowledge is wisdom.” - Takeda Shingen 

Students and teachers should always do the techniques correctly but with wisdom. In class, I advocate that students execute the techniques with tadashii (正しい) or as “correctly” as possible. Tadashii doesn’t just mean correctness but also doing something with propriety. With that being said, it is still possible to do the technique completely “correct” but still do it wrong. Takeda Shingen said, “Understanding why and when to apply knowledge is wisdom.” Knowledge, in this sense, is the ability to do a technique or one’s technical aptitude. Wisdom is mindfully knowing when and how to use a technique. Therefore, in addition to doing the technique “correct,” I also want the students to mindfully modify the technique for the person they are working with. Just blasting through every person with the full depth and breadth of one’s ability is mindless and shows a lack of discipline and sophistication. For instance, on my very second day in Aikido training, I was being taught by a brand new shodan or “first degree black belt.” He was assigned to teach me how to roll and help me through the techniques. I wasn’t very coordinated, and I could tell that he was getting frustrated. At a certain point, he just did the techniques at full speed and just kept throwing me down on the mat despite the fact that I didn’t know how to fall. Several times, I got the wind knocked out of me or hit my head. When someone chided him after class, I heard him say with a sheepish grin, “What? Me? I’m always gentle. I was just doing the techniques the way they are supposed to be done.” In this sense, he was knowledgeable but lacked wisdom or patience which showed his true level. Whenever we train with someone, we should always mindfully do the techniques as correctly as possible - that is knowledge. We should also mindfully know how and when to modify a technique for the person we are working with but still maintain its “correctness”- that is wisdom. Our true wisdom and power are displayed by our mindful restraint and what we choose not to do rather than showing what we can do. 

Today’s goal: What can you do to be more mindful and show your wisdom?  

Watch this video of Dandapani discussing knowledge and wisdom.

Be Hungry

Aiki Dojo Message - Be Hungry

The best martial artists are hungry. In a martial arts sense, to be hungry means that one has a strong desire or craving to learn something. On a certain level, it is the teacher’s job to feed that hunger or starve it. Starve it? Yes, some students need to be fed while others need to be starved to create hunger. Sometimes, deprivation, and the hunger it creates, enables some people to flourish. Matcha green tea is that way. The secret power of green tea lies in how well you deprive it of sunlight when it is growing. Matcha is specially produced using only pure Gyokuro tea leaves. Somehow, shading the green tea bush from sunlight forces it to produce higher concentrations of chlorophyll which increases the tea’s antioxidant concentration and gives green tea all of its health benefits. Students can be like that too. Every student has potential but because some students are unaware of it. Because they are unaware of their vast potential, they don’t know how to be “hungry.” Thus, the teacher may have to deprive them just enough to create a desire to improve. From this point of view, starvation is beneficial and can bring about something much better than if it was not deprived. Some things we have to feed while other things need to be starved. The trick is in knowing when to feed or when to deprive. The interesting thing is that it is actually not up to the teacher at all. Whether one is being fed or starved is up to the student and how they perceive their training. As we get older, we realize that everything that has happened to us, good and bad, has made us who we are. We could not have become who we are if it was any other way. Sometimes, we need to “starve” so that we can realize our true potential. Being hungry or not getting what we want can create the desire to work harder and that’s why the best martial artists are always hungry.  

Today’s goal: What can you deprive yourself of to make yourself better? 

Watch this video of Berton Braley's poem The Will to Win

Throwback Thursday - Wishes

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on June 12, 2003. 

Have you ever thought about wishing? There is an interesting saying, “Be careful what you wish for." In Japanese, it is negaigoto wa yoku kangaete shinasai (願い事はよく考えてしなさい) which means “Think carefully about your wishes.” Most of us, if we had three wishes, may fall into the typical trap of asking for untold wealth, youth and the return of loved ones, etc. As the typical story goes, after our wish, everything goes bad. We always think that we know what we want and will always make the best decisions for ourselves. However, it can turn out that what we wished for was the wrong thing, delivered in the wrong way and it winds up with exactly what we didn’t want.

The same goes for "winning." We win a contest and think that we have the advantage over others or that we are better than others but wind up with just an empty victory. Winning for the wrong reasons is not winning at all. It is very much like making a wish and inadvertently wishing for the wrong thing. More often than not, we win for exactly the wrong reasons. In winning, we must do it correctly.

At the same time, we should be careful how we "lose" as well. If we lose incorrectly, we feel like we have lost everything! No, we lost a game or a contest. We didn’t die so it’s not a big deal. We might lose something in our lives but, in most cases, we can still recover. Therefore, even in losing, we must do it correctly!